If you were keeping up with my Instagram page, you would know that I was a Scene Reporter for MommyCon San Jose. I posted photos of the event all day long and had a great time with the sponsors and vendors. I was able to catch up with old friends and make some new!

For those that don’t know, MommyCon is a nation-wide convention for natural parenting. It’s for parents and parents-to-be. There are panels and workshops, and a showcase hall of exhibitors. They touch on natural birthing, breastfeeding and babywearing.

I checked in at 8am, with my two littles and we walked around the hall. A lot of the vendors were just setting up and getting their booths ready. It was nice to catch up with some organizations that I participate in and see some friends. I was able to sit through Cloth Diapering 101, with Jenn Labit of Cotton Babies speaking. Each session had a play area in the back, so the kids had fun, while I was able to listen.

There was an amazing babywearing lounge, sponsored by ErgoBaby. There were so many different types of carriers. What a huge variety! You were able to try them on, and they had babywearing educators who helped you with anything you needed. I’ve never seen so many carriers at once! It was nice to walk through there and speak to them. They were some passionate educators, that just really love to help. They were great.

We took a break for lunch and walked around outside. There’s a brief break from the rain and we were able to check out the restaurants that were near the convention center.

We rushed back to check out another session. This one was the Scaredy Cat Potty Training, done by Super Undies. I was extremely interested in this one, since Tot is almost to the point of potty training. We are almost there! It was quite informative.

I was able to check out baby carriers, diaper bags, homeopathic medicine, cloth diapers… the lists goes on! I also got a pretty awesome swag bag (goody bag) at the end. If you’re a parent, or a parent-to-be, I would check MommyCon. They just announced their dates and locations for next year!

If interested in checking out MommyCon, use code NIKKI17 for $5 off! Yes, it’s a referral.

Thanks to a great friend, I was able to test Emmeline Textiles Eleanor Pearl. Emmeline Textiles is run by two sisters. They use small business mills and dye houses. Everything else is done in home, by them. Eleanor Pearl was the first in their Ribbon Collection.

I am a huge fan of undyed wraps. I’ve been in the natty (natural) phase for a while. When I first saw EP in a photo, I thought it would be cushy (marshmallow status), but it wasn’t. Don’t let that stop you! It is a solid wrap, with no digging at all. I was able to put Tot up on my back for hours with this wrap. There is limited give with this wrap, barely any stretch – which gives you the support you need to hold your child. It is extremely solid.

Just because there isn’t a lot of stretch, doesn’t make it a cumbersome wrap – it just makes it extremely supportive. I would consider this a workhorse wrap that could deal with everything. It’s soft enough to be amazing with a newborn, but solid enough to deal with a heavier toddler. It’s low maintenance and easy to care for. It is tightly woven, so I wouldn’t consider it too airy, but it isn’t a hot wrap. It’s right in between.

I love the texture of this wrap. The pattern consists of horizontal lines, in various positions. The lines help with the passes gliding. It also helps with the grip needed for passes to stay put. I love the bumpiness of the lines. It is a thicker wrap, so the drape tends to retain its shape.

EP is such a great wrap! I love the natty color that it is, thought about trying to get one for my wedding wrap! I had a size 4, so I was able to get Tot into a ruck – which stayed put the entire time. I also did a couple of shepherd’s carries and had him in a FWCC TUB (front wrap cross carry, tied under butt) when it was nap time. It was nicely supportive and it reminded me of a favorite flannel blanket.

Thanks to some awesome people, I was able to test ABW’s Under The Sea! Under The Sea was first available at IBC (International Babywearing Conference) in two different wefts and additional wefts were released over the summer. I have fallen in love with ABW – their wraps look handwoven, but they’re all machine woven. Their wraps are all gorgeous. UTS is no different. The colors are gorgeous. I love blues and greens, so this wrap was just perfect for me. Another plus is the unhemmed rails, which makes passes glide and not get caught on one another, during wrapping.

UTS isn’t cushy, but don’t let that hold you back. It was not diggy at all on the shoulders. It’s extremely supportive and there’s just a bit of stretch. Not too much, where you have to readjust and fix your passes. But just enough that, it just molds to your body and your baby. I wore Tot in a double hammock for hours while shopping, and it’s just extremely supportive. He took a nap, woke up, and was just fine.

The texture on this wrap is great! It’s slightly 3D, but I wouldn’t consider it bumpy. It helps keep passes still. It drapes well and looks good in all different carries. I could also carry Tot in a ruck, and it felt fine. No digging, no complaints from my shoulders at all.

I totally recommend this wrap to babies of all ages and sizes. I can see it being a great wrap for a newborn, and it was a great wrap for my toddler.

Hey there! It’s IBW this week. It runs from October 5th-10th, this year. It’s an event run by Babywearing International.

It is a week-long opportunity to celebrate, promote, advocate for, and focus media attention on the many benefits of babywearing.

I talk about babywearing constantly on this blog, so I just wanted to highlight that IBW is this week. There are events running in most major cities (even some in smaller cities!). We have some fun games going on. Check out their Facebook page and group, if you’re interested.

I got the opportunity to check out e-cloth’s Kitchen Pack and I can actually say that I had fun cleaning. I hate to clean. Not the act of cleaning, but all the chemicals and smells. I hate it. I try to find things that smell better, but then they don’t clean as well. I clean with bleach, everything is perfect, but then the smell sticks and I have a headache for days. I don’t win.

So I got to test their kitchen pack and it’s my new favorite. You don’t have to use soap, just add water and clean! You save time, no extra steps. You save money; you barely buy any cleaning chemicals and paper towels. I always get a sparkling finish. Once you’re done, throw the towels into the washer with your regular wash. The towels are guaranteed for 300 washes. Their kitchen pack consists of:

The green cloth, Kitchen Cloth, can clean through grease and grime. It cuts through it all. It has a little scrubbing pocket that can remove anything that’s stuck. The blue cloth is the Glass & Polishing Cloth; it cleans off light grease and finger marks on shiny surfaces. I recommend using the blue cloth after the green cloth.

I’m a fan of e-cloth. I also own the Bathroom Cloths and it keeps our bathrooms sparkly clean. I just love the fact that they’re all clean without all of those nasty chemicals.

Thanks to e-cloth, I am giving away their Kitchen Pack, which is what you see in the photos above.

I was able to test Lumen Maul, from Risaroo Wovens. It’s the second release from the Dark Side collection. I’m a huge fan of Star Wars, so I had to try this wrap out. It is 45% tencel, which makes it a nice and airy wrap. I think the tencel makes it even cooler than linen.

Maul is pretty cushy. I think it has to do with the tencel. It feels great on the shoulders, with little to no digging. There’s also a good amount of give in the wrap. There’s a bit of stretch, and it stretches it with use. You might need to readjust if you’re using this wrap for a long period of time with a heavier baby.

This wrap isn’t bulky at all. It’s on the thin side, and I feel like it’s close to ace wrap status. It hugs you and the baby very well. Each pass glides very well and it’s extremely easy to tie a knot. I didn’t have any issues with the knot slipping.

I wouldn’t consider this wrap a workhorse wrap, but I wouldn’t consider it delicate either. It doesn’t need a lot of maintenance, but it could pull – so be careful. I didn’t have any issues with that at all.

This wrap is just so soft. It has a slight bit of texture, but it wasn’t a very defined feel in hand. It’s floppy and probably would make a good blanket to snuggle up with.

We love the Dark Side wraps over here. I would recommend them to everyone to try out. Love the patterns and their color choices.